WO2017042776A1

WO2017042776A1 - Cooler for perishable material

Info

Publication number: WO2017042776A1
Application number: PCT/IB2016/056217
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kathia BROCE; Christofher Joel CARDENAS; José Ángel GONZÁLEZ GIL; Ricardo Allan DE LEVANTE; Ricardo Antonio DE LEVANTE
Original assignee: Universidad Tecnológica De Panamá
Priority date: 2016-07-19
Filing date: 2016-10-17
Publication date: 2017-03-16

Abstract

Cooler (1) designed for the conservation and monitoring of perishable products, which comprises electronic monitoring devices (7, 8 and 10) and sensors (6) for the temperature, the humidity and the location of the content thereof, and which includes a device (9) designed to send information to a user by wireless means. The cooler is made of an insulating material and includes trays (11) filled with refrigerant fluid in order to create compartments in the interior of the cooler.

Description

COOLER FOR PERISHABLE MATERIAL

BACKGROUND Field of the invention

The object of the present invention is an intelligent cooler designed to store and transport perishable material. Specifically, a cooler equipped with electronic devices, in order to determine the location and the condition of the container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Currently, agricultural and livestock producers survive thanks to the amount of product that they can sell to their intermediaries. Intermediaries confronting products that perish after a certain time reduce the purchase price of the product, which affects the survival of the producers.

The products themselves perish when they are under conditions that do not promote their well-being. Conditions such as high temperature, humidity, and darkness promote the growth of bacteria, fungi and other beings that cause deterioration of the material. This is a common situation during the transport of these products.

Solutions have been developed to correct this problem, such as cold chains, which consist of equipment designed to store the products under optimal conditions for the preservation thereof, strategically located to maximise transport efficiency.

The present invention is intended to solve this problem by means of two approaches. To reduce the producers' need for intermediaries, by making it possible for them to monitor their products during transport using electronic devices designed to this end, and to allow for an increase in the lifetime of the material to be transported using a different- temperature compartment system.

There exist inventions that intend to solve this problem using other approaches. In the literature, we have found devices that promote keeping the animals that are to be converted into foodstuffs alive during transport and even vacuum-sealed refrigerators designed to eliminate the bacteria and fungi found in the air. We are familiar with patent application US 5,172,51 1 , by Smith, which discloses a device that preserves fish and bait alive during transport by means of a water circulation system. In the opinion of the inventors of the present invention, despite the significant merit of this invention, since it manages to keep the bait alive during transport, the method used only works for very specific cases, fish, and this limits the applications thereof.

On the contrary, application US 5,964,255, by Schmidt, discloses a device that removes the air inside it, thereby creating a vacuum chamber where the perishable material is housed. By releasing the air contained in an enclosure, an invention such as this one has great utility, since, jointly with the air, it removes impurities such as fungi, bacteria, viruses and other similar entities present in the environment; however, no solution is offered for the temperature, which significantly affects the decomposition process.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a hermetically-sealed intelligent cooler with a rectangular structure, size and shape, made of a resistant, insulating material, coupled to a digital system that allows for internal monitoring of the temperature and the relative humidity, with an incorporated GPS system designed to determine the location thereof. The present cooler is equipped with a plurality of rigid trays or plates made of insulating material which have a cavity for housing water or another freezable material in an electric refrigerator or freezer or similar equipment. The rigid plates are placed inside the refrigerator structure to form compartments. The intelligent system operates by means of a rechargeable energy source, and has power buttons and digital screens to monitor the temperature and the humidity. In addition, it is equipped with a wireless communication system, designed to send the users signals about the condition and the location.

Moreover, the present invention has a pipe equipped with a valve on the lower part of the body of the cooler, which facilitates cleaning the interior thereof, in order to eliminate the waste generated by the transported products.

One of the objectives of the present invention is to provide small agricultural producers and artisanal fisher people with limited economic resources, who do not have access to cold chains or large refrigerators, with a method to preserve their products, which allows for the transport and conservation of perishable products until they reach the final buyer, for a more efficient marketing thereof. Another objective is cost reduction within the production chain, which allows for the final user to enjoy high-quality fresh products at a lower cost.

Another objective of the present invention is to make the location and the condition of the product known at all times.

In order to fulfil the aforementioned objectives, we propose a cooler for the transport of perishable material, which is composed of a hollow body and a lid. On the one hand, the upper part of the body is equipped with a temperature and humidity measurement device, and half of a double lock. On the other hand, the lower part of the body is equipped with a pipe designed to remove water from the interior of the cooler in cleaning operations of the interior of the cooler.

The walls of the cooler are made of an insulating material, in order to prevent the entrance of heat, and the exit and entrance of air.

The lid of the cooler is equipped with a second half of the double lock. Thus, when the lid is joined to the body, they become anchored as both halves of the double lock are aligned.

The cooler is innovatively characterised in that it is equipped with a GPS module, a microcontroller, a battery and a wireless communication device, all of which are coupled on the upper part of the lid, close to one of the lateral edges thereof.

Optionally, the interior of the hollow body of the cooler is equipped with at least one rigid tray with handles that act as gripping means. Thus, the users are able to place or remove the trays from the interior of the cooler. In this way, the trays located inside the hollow body of the cooler form a plurality of compartments delimited by the four walls of the body.

The cooler of the present invention presents a cavity that allows for access to the sensors and is placed in the body. The cooler is characterised in that it is equipped with a container, which has an opening embedded in the tray.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Figure 1 represents a lateral view of the cooler.

Figure 2 represents an upper view of the cooler.

Figure 3 represents an upper view of a tray of the cooler.

Figure 4 represents a lateral view of the cooler with the outer side removed in order to show the arrangement of the trays in the inner part.

Figure 5 represents an information flow diagram of the control system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following example is only intended to show an optional embodiment of the cooler of the invention described above. This example is not limiting in terms of the scope of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a lateral view of the cooler or refrigerator 1 , which is composed of two parts, the body 2 and the lid 3. A device 6 designed to measure the temperature and the humidity is assembled on the upper part of the body 2, which is also equipped with a half 5a of a double lock and a faucet or tap 4 to remove water from the interior of the refrigerator 1 during cleaning. The lid 3 has a second half 5b of the double lock. The walls of the cooler 1 are made of insulating material in order to prevent the entrance of heat. Moreover, the present cooler also prevents the leakage and entrance of air when the lid 3 is joined to the body 2, and they become anchored into position when both parts of the lock 5a and 5b are aligned, a process performed by the user. In Figure 2, which shows an upper view, the relative size of the exterior of the body 2 and the lid 3 may be observed in greater detail. It may be observed that the limit between both bodies forms a seal and the figure also shows where the locks 5a and 5b are located. In addition to the visible elements, it is equipped with the electronic devices designed for information control. The device 6 is the temperature and humidity sensor, which extends through the compartments of the cooler. This sensor runs inside the wall and enters all the compartments. We may also observe the microcontroller 8, the GPS module 7, and the wireless communication device 9. Moreover, there is a battery 10, designed to supply power to the electric system. Figure 3 shows the upper view of one of the trays 1 1 placed in the interior of the body 2 of the cooler. This body 2 presents a cavity 12 designed for access to the compartment with the sensors and a container 13 embedded in the tray, which has an opening 15. The container 13 may contain refrigerant fluid and the opening 15 may be used to supply it; for this reason, this opening may be covered. The refrigerant fluid inside the container 13 may be frozen or taken to low temperatures through refrigeration by means of methods outside the scope of the present invention. The tray 1 1 is delimited by an outer wall 16, such that the dimensions thereof fit inside the body 2 of the cooler 1. In order to fix the tray 1 1 inside the body 2, channels may be created on the inner wall of this container. A user may grip the tray by means of the handles 14a and 14b in order to insert it inside the cooler 1 ; when it is straightened inside the cooler 1 , the cooler divides the interior of the body 2 into two compartments, both of which must be joined to one another.

Figure 4 is an inner view of the cooler 1 , after inserting a plurality of trays 1 1 ; from said Figure 4, the wall of the refrigerator has been removed in order to show the interior of the cooler. The body 2 of the cooler 1 has been divided into a plurality of compartments, each delimited by at least one tray 11 or by the lower limit of the body 2 or another tray. The upper compartment would be protected from the elements by the lid 3. Also shown is the inner channel 17 of the temperature and humidity sensor, which reaches all the compartments, thereby allowing for the device 6 to perform individual temperature and humidity measurements for each compartment.

Figure 5 illustrates the control system diagram. The system 18 only collects data and sends information; it has no actuators and, therefore, is not capable of making changes to the plant. The location information obtained from the GPS module 7 and the information about the condition of the compartments obtained from the humidity and temperature measurement device 6 are received by the microcontroller 8, which co-ordinates the information and converts the format such that it may be sent by wireless communication through the device 9. The format used to send the information may be adjusted such that it may be received by personal devices, stations or other equipment.

Claims

1. Cooler (1 ) for transporting perishable material, which is formed by a hollow body (2) and a lid (3), wherein the upper part of the body (2) has a temperature and humidity measurement device (6), and one half (5a) of a double lock, the lower part is equipped with an outlet faucet or tap (4), which allows for the removal of water from the interior of the cooler (1), the lid 3 is equipped with a second half (5b) of the double lock, and the walls of the cooler (1 ) are made of an insulating material, in order to prevent the entrance of heat, and the exit and entrance of air when the lid (3) is joined to the body (2), which become anchored when both halves (5a) and (5b) of the lock are aligned, characterised in that the cooler (1 ) comprises a GPS module (7), a microcontroller (8), a battery (10) and a wireless communication device (9) coupled and connected to one another, located on the upper part of the lid (3), on one of the lateral edges thereof.

2. Cooler (1) according to claim 1 , wherein at least one rigid tray (1 1) equipped with handles (14a, 14b) that act as gripping means is placed in the interior of the body (2).

3. Cooler (1 ) according to claim 2, wherein the trays (1 1) in the interior of the body (2) form a plurality of compartments.

4. Cooler (1 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the body (2) is equipped with a cavity (12) that allows for access to the sensors.

5. Cooler (1) according to claims 1 and 2, wherein a container (13) equipped with an opening (15) is embedded in the tray (1 1).